#kurumba

Storage Container, Kurumba, 1900, Art Institute of Chicago: Arts of Africa

Tall, cylindrical storage containers are a regular feature in traditional homes of the arid western Sahel and savanna region. Lined up in rows in the kitchen, they hold the life-sustaining grains–primarily millet, sorghum, and, more recently, corn–that are grown in the short rainy season that lasts from June until September. They also safeguard other dry goods such as peanuts or okra, as well as personal valuables, from clothing and jewelry to money. Such vessels are a visual and conceptual extension of the larger, stationary granaries that are prominent features of the built environment. Both are strongly associated with sustenance, fecundity, and fertility. This storage container comes from central and northern Burkina Faso, a region that saw the founding of the powerful Mossi States in the fifteenth century. At that time, the invasion of horsemen from northern Ghana changed the political and cultural make up of the area in significant ways. The local populations of Kurumba, Dogon, and Gurmantche were overpowered by their attackers but were not completely subsumed by them; today they continue to possess a sense of ownership over the land and maintain a unique sense of identity on many levels. This Kurumba storage container stands on three squat legs. It is etched from neck to feet with a freehand pattern of bands and triangles that are filled in with hatching and cross-hatching. A related Kurumba example possesses bands of patterning that are impressed in a more regular and compartmentalized fashion. Similar inscribed patterns are also found on a jar from an ancient burial mound at Kouga in Mali. Gift of Keith Achepohl Size: 77.5 × 44.5 cm (30 1/2 × 17 1/2 in.) Medium: Terracotta

Storage Container, Kurumba, 1900, Art Institute of Chicago: Arts of Africa

This container was probably kept to store valuables, and is a smaller version of vessels that are used primarily to preserve grains and dry goods across the western Sahel and savanna. The form and finish is rough. With its extremely narrow base, this pot appears quite precarious and would have needed to be set into the ground to stand upright. Its only ornament is a raised ribbon that suggests a simply rendered human figure with long arms that form a band around the pot’s mouth and legs that terminate in gentle hooks. Similar ribbonlike embellishments are found on other containers that have been identified as Kurumba and Kasena, peoples living to the north and south of the Mossi heartland. This vessel reportedly stored cowrie shells, once widely used both as currency and as decorations for masquerade costumes. [See also 2005.287 and 2006.745]. Gift of Keith Achepohl Size: 50.2 × 21 cm (19 3/4 × 8 1/4 in.) Medium: Terracotta

Storage Container, Kurumba, 1900, Art Institute of Chicago: Arts of Africa

This container was probably used to store valuables, and represents a smaller version of vessels that are used primarily to preserve grains and dry goods across the western Sahel and savanna. This vessel has a feminine, subtly undulating shape that is accentuated by its burnished patina and combed texture. [See also 2005.286 and 2006.745]. Gift of Keith Achepohl Size: 43.2 × 29.9 cm (17 × 11 3/4 in.) Medium: Terracotta

Storage Container, Kurumba, 1900, Art Institute of Chicago: Arts of Africa

This container was probably used to store valuables, and represents a smaller version of vessels that are used primarily to preserve grains and dry goods across the western Sahel and savanna. This vessel has a feminine, subtly undulating shape that is accentuated by its burnished patina and combed texture. [See also 2005.286 and 2006.745]. Gift of Keith Achepohl Size: 43.2 × 29.9 cm (17 × 11 3/4 in.) Medium: Terracotta

Storage Container, Kurumba, 1800, Art Institute of Chicago: Arts of Africa

These tall cylindrical storage containers are like miniature granaries in both form and function, and may be found lined up in rows in the kitchens of homes. They hold the life-sustaining grains—primarily millet, sorghum, and corn—that are grown in the short rainy season of the arid western Sahel region from June until September. Such vessels also safeguard personal valuables. This three-legged example is embellished with patterns that mimic traditional scarifications upon the belly of a Kurumba mother. Gift of Keith Achepohl Size: 68 × 51.4 cm (26 3/4 × 20 1/4 in.) Medium: Terracotta